Shorts scare me but I need some please.

[HaveYouHadYourBreak]

Help! I need some shorts for city breaks in hot places. Below knee. Hand luggage only so they need to roll up small, not get overly creased (so no linen etc) and can just throw on with a t shirt.

They'll be worn with either practical trainers/walking shoes or sensible walking sandles.

I'm short and fat and my bum and thighs are huge. I'm very self conscious of my legs.

It is not going to be my best look(!) but I'd like to reduce the awfullness if possible. Any tips or spotted anything?

High Street budget.

So those who cannot afford premium ranges should just go around naked then?
It’s all very well having principles and I applaud you for them, but not everyone can afford them. Insinuating that the consumer is somehow without morals for participating in a shit system is not fair when many have no legitimate choice at their price point.

Those actually look ok, for longish shorts. Though Matalan fares badly on ethics & sustainability - & Papaya (the brand) even worse. It's rated here at the same level as Shein & Temu.

I only know that because I just looked them up here. https://directory.goodonyou.eco/brand/papaya

But it's a minefield out there & so hard to keep track of what/where is ok!! At least I feel a wee bit better as I buy mostly secondhand - but then I wonder if Vinted has encouraged "fast" secondhand fashion in its own way ...

(Sorry, you just posted a pic of decent shorts, & got my second-coffee-of-the-day musings ...!!!)

@HaveYouHadYourBreak What about these?
https://www.newlook.com/uk/womens/clothing/shorts/white-longline-pleated-shorts/p/946199310?extcam=UK_PPC_PMax_Generics_High_Challenger__Google_MT__DV_c_CID_22900722195&ppccam=PLA_NW_x_ASGID_6689429941_LOC_9046367_DM__TID_&ppcfeed=FIID__PRID_9462125&_cclid=Google_CjwKCAjwzevPBhBaEiwAplAxvkOCQFbT0kmi5gcgUGoaDAu8Yvp7actSOL8qiuY95oLilAt2CnohNxoC-RkQAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22910470303&gbraid=0AAAAAD2UatOUIeBtlwYJAy1O1ImA2FJUf&gclid=CjwKCAjwzevPBhBaEiwAplAxvkOCQFbT0kmi5gcgUGoaDAu8Yvp7actSOL8qiuY95oLilAt2CnohNxoC-RkQAvD_BwE

I don't think that was quite what was meant by @ButterYellowFlowers ??

I'm much much poorer these days than I used to be, having gone freelance & part-time. But it's like buying cheap chicken - I don't, it makes me uncomfortable knowing how it's been reared. I buy free range, when reduced - but very rarely now instead of a couple of times a week, & eat mostly veggie. I appreciate it more when I do have it. Ditto with, say, green cleaning products. I make some of my own now.

Halara, Matalan & New Look - for instance - are pretty crappy & only one rung above Shein & Temu. Charity shops are great but offer limited choice. I've used eBay for 25 years & now use Vinted too - it's like a great big charity shop in the sky, with pretty much everything you may need. But you might have to wait for it, & have some patience. And that's what a lot of people don't like. They want to have that kick of buying something new & shiny (even if that top does contain lead particles).

We've been conditioned to want instant gratification, & fuck the ethics of what we buy.

(Btw I am guilty of getting is wrong a lot of the time too, & of sometimes quelling my doubts when I buy something. But I do try not to, & am trying my best to be more considered. I think that's what @ButterYellowFlowers meant. We do have choices.)

Don’t try and paint me as the bad guy shitting on poor people… if you choose to buy from brands that are known to use sweatshops you are saying your relative lack of money means it’s ok for even poorer folk (often children) to be abused and essentially enslaved for the production of your clothing.

Just choose reasonably priced shops that aren’t known to have obvious sweatshop links and terrible waste policies…. or buy from Vinted like I do. I’m literally unemployed and my husband is off sick. I buy Nobody’s Child clothes second hand for £10. Easy solution.

@EleanorMc67
New look claim to do ethical trade
https://www.newlookgroup.com/esg-sustainability/responsible-business/ethical-trade
last allegation of them using sweat shop labour was 2010

I am a keen shorts-wearer in hot weather, whether in a city or not (just checked re looking like a tourist/unflattered, but still can't find a fuck to give 😃) and rate Passenger and M&S shorts. I'm fine with linen as it's cool and I accepted many years ago that it'll crease - see above - and I'm also wedded to slightly cropped tapered inen trousers for summer.

I like the Laundry cropped trousers that @EleanorMc67 linked to - I agree with others that trousers can be just as cool (and mitigate sunburn) if that's what you'd prefer OP.

I have the wide-leg version of these and they're very cool and comfy, although bag a bit at the knees.

Yes I believe they've got better, which is good. And much more transparent too.

I generally don't shop there though, or Matalan or the cheapest end of the high street. If I have £20 to spend on a dress, I always think it's better to get a sales bargain or - even better - buy a £200 dress for £20 on Vinted! For me it's a quality & value for money thing, as well as ethics.

You could buy your clothes from charity shops. They have plenty of cheap clothes that are almost new.
I've donated clothes with tags on before now.
I've bought expensive brand clothes that looked new.
You might need to rummage but I recently got a jumper (danish make with tags still on it £40 new for £4) and I've had lots of comments on how nice it is.

Last year I got two pairs of trousers from Forgotten Tribes for a city break. Some wide leg culotte things and a cropped barrel leg. They were both perfect and I wore them all summer. They didn't wash brilliantly but I would still recommend them. I'm 5.4 and a size 16

If it's a hot country I always find my creases fall out naturally - isn't there an iron or service you can use to help if you are worried about creasing? Good luck on finding something you're happy with, I know how hard it is :(

Yeah, I may as well have a big flashing sign that I'm a tourist whether I go but meh.

@JennyChawleigh , I linked those too (a few pages after you).

@HaveYouHadYourBreak , they will look a bit touristy but not in a bad way.
A friend from abroad comes over for about a month at a time and dresses in 'travel clothes' but it's practical if you have to pack clothes that will suit several european countries over a month.

Also, not all oversees manufacturers are “sweat shops”. My relative works for a major retailer in production and is responsible for checking a lot of factories out there for their ethical and sustainability policies.

But a lot of those in charity shops may have come from “sweatshops” too? I just dont think it’s as black and white as you seem to be suggesting.

Edited - apologies I confused you with another poster.

@Sidebeforeself , they might be but they'll have been produced for the original purchaser to buy, not you.

Yes, I get that but it’s all supply and demand isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong , I wouldnt buy from the likes of Temu etc if you paid me , but I just know its not true that all overseas production is necessarily wrong.

Anyway none of this helps the OP buy shorts 😁

If you usually wear dresses, why not look for lightweight Summer dresses or skirt and top combos? I only wear skirts and dresses - joggers for the gym but that's it. Going away for a break, the last thing you want is to feel self-conscious or uncomfortable.

I am overweight and I cannot wear shorts - I don't even wear trousers. Skirts and dresses year round. Soo easy to pack, with a pair of chub rubs from snag i stay super comfortable. Takes up far less space packing than trousers and shorts too! I encourage you to consider a few summer dresses if you are prioritising comfort.

I don't think OP really wants shorts.

I’d go for floaty skirts in whatever length you like with cotton rich chub rub knicker shorts underneath. I like the Sloggi ones.

I feel your pain re:shorts.
I'm team loose lightweight trousers ,cropped at absolute most.....

Well I’m just going by the title thread and the posts

The coolest things in heat are voluminous maxi dresses. They hide a multitude of sins too.

And allow you to eat as many tapas as you wish ... I love my voluminous maxi dresses!!!